Can You Stop Me From Running Away?
by AuroraAustralice
Summary: Draco sees Hermione Granger for the first time after years at his doorstep shivering, cold and with a baby! Once bitten, twice shy, is the motto Hermione Granger lives by, raped by the "Love of her life" Ron Weasley when she refused to have sex with him She is left with a reminder of him for the rest of her life… her beautiful baby Rose, now almost one Summery inside
1. Chapter 1

**_Can You Stop Me From Running Away?_**

Once bitten, twice shy, is the motto Hermione Granger lives by, raped by the "Love of her life" Ron Weasley when she refused to have sex with him before he transferred to Salem American Institute of Advanced Magic.

She is left with a reminder of him for the rest of her life… her beautiful baby Rose, now almost one, Hermione vows that the violence and fury that resulted in the birth of her baby with not touch her daughter. She will keep her baby safe and far away from the man who ruined her life so she runs away.. Escapes to the edges of London when a sudden storm forces her to seek shelter in a manor nearby , little does she know who own the manor … Draco Malfoy!

Draco sees Hermione Granger for the first time after years at his doorstep shivering, cold and with a baby! The beautiful baby Rose who captures his heart at first glance but what about her mother… Hermione reluctantly takes a job as Draco's house keeper as she has no money to speak of and no job offers anywhere, so to raise Rose safely and away from Ron she begins to work with Draco, slowly falling in love with her reclusive, talented, lonely, wounded boss. But Draco doesn't believe it… who will love a man so scarred, whose eyes are haunted with past regrets and whose body is covered with the evidence of his stint in Azkaban.

Now it's time for rape victim Hermione Granger to join and heal lonely, scared Draco Malfoy. Can two wrongs make a right? Hopefully for Rose's sake they can….

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	2. Roses Are Red

"Miss. Granger push please, push you are dilated almost fully but you still need to push a bit more, just a bit." said the healer - midwife from Saint, Mungos who had arrived at Hermione's house when she Flooed the hospital, the on-come of her labor had been fast and painful and now a mere four hours later Hermione was giving birth to her little baby... at home thankfully, she didn't want a chance run in with Harry or any of the Weasleys with whom she had severed all contact when they thought she was the one who had driven Ron away to America.

Harry had remained faithful to his friendship even if it was a little hard with his wife being Ginny but hiding her growing pregnancy had become harder and harder until one day she lied to him and told him to keep away because Ginny's hostility was getting too much.

And now she was all alone, alone and with a baby to support. How she was going to manage that in London with everyone knowing who she was, was going to be impossible...

Another painful contraction wracked her body she she moaned out in pain, holding the arms of the couch for support. "Almost there Hermione, I can see the baby's head... Just one last push and you're done! Come on love." soothed the calm, soft voiced mid-wife, Hermione gritted her teeth in determination to defy her over-tired body and gave one mighty push...

She was exhausted, slmpuming down onto the sofa with a sigh she shut her eyes... Till she heard a loud squalling and her eyes opened in shock,

"Congratulations love." said the healer tenderly placing the wrapped bundle in her arms. "Its a beautiful baby girl...What are you going to name her?"

"Rose, my little baby Rose Granger." said Hermione in awe, her eyes taking in the perfect little baby cuddled into her arms, with her ten little fingers and her ten tiny toes and her soft blue eyes looking up at her mother with such intense adoration and faith that Hermione knew in that moment ... that for the rest of her life she would do whatever it took to keep her baby happy and safe and the anger... the unhappiness... the filth... the rage... the devastation that went into the making of Rose would never harm her most precious life, the filth would never touch her purity, the rage would never touch her unconditional love, the fear would never disrupt her safe life... ever

And a firm conviction settled and hardened in Hermione's heart, before she was one Hermione would take Rose and leave London and leave her past and leave all of what haunted her each living breath... She would create a new life for her and her child, a life where Rose would know no fear and would live and play and stay happy... forever happy.

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"Hush my love, hush my darling... my angel, my precious. Its cold I know but there is nothing more I can do." Hermione said desperately rocking her sobbing daughter, who was whimpering in heartbreaking tears.

Hermione walked on bravely looking for the house the Realtor had told her about, she could unfortunately not do any magic right now. She was still breast-feeding Rose and the healer had told her that magic in the body would be harmful for the baby, so she tightened the blanket around her and began to walk in the blasting cold wind until she heard the loud ominous rumble of an oncoming storm, the thunder made Rose cry even harder and Hermione knew she had to seek shelter somewhere now... anywhere.

But all around were just miles and miles of open fields so she ran forward till she spotted a single manor at the end of the road, praying that the owner would be nice enough to let them wait out the storm...

She rushed up the road and to the door of the manor, swinging the gate open and knocking hurriedly, feeling a sense of gratitude when she heard the doors open...

"Granger!" said an husky, low voice from behind her and Hermione turned, her eyes widening at the sight of the one person who she had not seen over the past few years staring at her in shock.

"Malfoy!."

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	3. Violet Shadows

"Hermione Granger..." Draco said looking down at her in shock. His eyes roving over her tiny body curled protectively over the little bundle in her arms and her wide , doe like eyes cautiously hopeful as they looked up at him. She looked so delicate thought Draco with a stab guilt, like porcelain... breakable, her beautiful eyes that he had so hated in Hogwarts were haunted with shadows of past pain... some of which he had put there, again he felt a stab of pain in his gut almost winding him.

She was thin, like she hadn't been eating, her soft child like features were enhanced by the thinness if her face, so slim was she that he could see the delicate bone-structure beneath her warm golden skin. "Come in Granger." he rasped, "It's not good for you to be outside in such weather."

Hermione Granger smiled up at Draco, her beautiful dimples flashing in a heart-string tugging way. She didn't expect this from him but Draco had changed, she could see it in his eyes... his molten,mercurial eyes that he kept shuttered most of the time but today Hermione caught him off-guard and saw the emotions of broken man reflected back, the emotions of a man who felt deeply, from the soul who tried not to feel, not because he was callous but because he knew once he let his emotions take him the pain of desolation would be too great. Here they were two damaged hearts trying to rebuild their lives with whatever remnants remained, no wonder they didn't speak.

What a lot they had said just by looking into each other's eyes...

Hermione looked at Draco for the first time in years without her judgement being clouded by hate and anger and saw his face, his proud aristocratic face, with its jutting, hard jaw, slashed with the mark of Voldemort's cruelty, a long vertical scar that ran down the length of his cheek, it had yet to acquire the silvery quality of an old wound and then saw him moving, his always arrogant gait now faltering because of an injury she knew he had sustained in Azakban. Hermione knew this because Ron had thought it was appropriate to describe Draco's suffering at the dinner table, gloating with the taunting smile on his face when Hermione felt her inside were raw at how they treated him in Azakban.

"Stop giving me that sympathetic look." he snapped at her coldly. "I'm not a fucking charity case." he said walking on ahead, his body assisted by the cane he leaned heavily on.

"I'm sorry Draco.." she said softly and he stopped abruptly as he he heard her say his name and turned and walked back to her.

"How do you know?" he demanded nearly snarling. "What do you know? What do you understand of suffering?" he said his eyes blazing into her's, "What do you know of pain..." he said turning away from her his voice low and mocking.

"Come along princess." he said referring to old nickname, his voice devoid of all emotion.

Hermione stood shocked at his passionate words, unable to move from her spot, her eyes clouding with tears she called out to him again.. "I do know Draco!" she yelled her voice cracking and then softer... "I do know suffering..." she cried out, a single tear trailing down her cheek forlornly.

Draco just shook his head in a mocking sneer, "Bring the child Granger, I'm sure she need to be fed now." he said in a tone that booked no argument.

Hermione hugged Rose tighter to her and walked after him, she now looked at him with new eyes. Watching his struggling movements with admiration, she wanted to help but she knew...

He was beautiful, even Azakban could not snatch that from him she though longingly as she looked at his broad sculptured back, down to his tapered waist and strong legs that moved to what seemed to be the rhythm of the earth.

He reminded her of a modern day Heathcliff, so closed off, so isolated and absorbed by his own thoughts and his own pain that he forgot to exist outside it. He was so wrapped up in the blackness, the guilt, the death and the darkness that he never knew that she had forgiven him...

As she followed him into what seemed to be his study, she got lost in her thoughts and bumped into him when he stopped, he turned around and reached out to steady her and the baby, pulling them to his massive chest, his strong arms surrounding her but for the first time in a year Hermione didn't feel the dizzying sickness of fear of being in a man's arms instead she felt heat and her head spun at his dizzying musk of woodsmoke and amber, gruffly he steadied her and looked away from her blushing cheeks and down at the baby...

Draco Malfoy should never have touched Hermione Granger, she was everything he was not and he was attracted to her like a moth to a flame.. She was sweetness and purity while he was mire of black. She was sunshine and flowers and he was in endless night... But to touch her sweetness was addictive and Draco knew he was already addicted...

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The little baby peeked out of her collection of blankets to see what the wait was for and looked up to see her beloved mother and the other man avoiding looking at each other, her mother's cheeks were pink and the man's eyes were almost black.. Rose gave a little coo to get her mother attention and happily giggle when Hermione lifted her out of the special seat and into her arms, Rose eyed Draco curious, her little finger's stuck in her mouth and reached out to him, wanting to be held.

Draco looked at the small, curly brown haired, blue eyed wonder reaching for him and began to panic, "No tell her no Granger, she'll fall form my hands." he said shaking his head and backing away.

Hermione just giggled, "Babies are sturdier than you think, hold her.. go on."

"I'll touch her but I won't hold her." he said negotiating.

"Okay." Hermione grinned, watching as Draco Malfoy prince of darkness walked tentatively closer to her baby and reached out with one finger to touch her cheek.

"See she didn't break Draco." giggled Hermione, looking at her giggling four month old daughter. "Hold her."

Draco reluctantly held out his arms to take the little baby into them, his widening over her tiny size. "Take her close, to you're chest." Hermione instructed.

Draco gave her a triumphant 'I just got an Order of Merlin First Class' grin when she snuggled into his muscular chest. "Just you wait." Hermione warned.

And soon enough she heard a loud whelp and saw Rose pulling Draco's long silky blond hair and putting it into her mouth and then going after the glasses perched on his nose. Hermione laughed at rescued Draco from her daughter's antics.

"I have to feed her now." Hermione said her cheeks becoming pink. "Do you mind giving us some privacy." she mumbled.

Draco's eyebrows shot up as he realized what she meant and giving her a wink he walked out of the study.

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	4. Iris's Tears

It was nights like these Draco thought savagely that truly reminded him how lonely he really was, the wounds on his chest and leg were hurting like the devil and it was hard for Draco to even get up of the chair he was sitting in, but gritting his teeth he did get up and walked over to the window to look out at natures fury ravage the country side. He was like that storm he thought grimly, Draco Malfoy the eye of a tornado... anyone who dared to get close was swept away by the savage, unforgiving winds around him and lost to him forever. He smiled darkly, it was no wonder his mother had died of a broken heart...

When he got out of Azakban, Draco escaped to the muggle world.. a world he despised so much yet that was where he was safest, always gifted in Arithmancy, he sought to make his fortune in the stock-markets, crushing his competition with a ruthlessness that he had come to be associated with, under the alias of Dante Moreau he had become an over night legend on the stock-exchange, a literal wizard...

But that's when it all started to fall apart , the women came and then the drugs... Dante/Draco fell head-first into the popular culture so starved was he for a distraction, for a vent to release his anger, his rage, his sadness, getting high every chance he got and discarding women like old underwear... He was out of control, his mother begged and pleaded for him to give up these habits yet Draco disregarded her coldly, his only though... where his next fix would come from...

Until one day he got a Floo call from the Malfoy family's trusted healer informing him that is mother had died because of a sudden heart-attack, just the day after he told her he would never leave his drugs. Where once cocain and heroin had numbed the pain in his body and made him forget his scars, they could do nothing and when once each women he bedded had soothed his pained soul for a night, they could do it no more...

Draco knew his mother didn't just die of a cardiac arrest, she had died of a broken heart. A broken heart he had caused, so now he wore that guilt.. that pain around him like an invisible shield barring anyone from getting closer because he knew the closer they got the more chances they had of being blow away...

It gave him a sort of adrenalin high, like a fever in his blood to be this close to the fury of the storm, this was his punishment to be broken and isolated for the rest of his life, doomed to watch other's live and love and grow old.

This was his self-imposed severing from society, a mere mockery in compare to his crimes. Atleast he wasn't doing drug's anymore he thought...

There was a soft knock on his door, limping towards it he harshly thrust it open and looked down at the frightened eyes Hermione Granger.

"What?" he clipped out with brutal precision.

"I umm.. I didn't think you'd mind if I used you're kitchen since we are clearly going to be here for a while." she stuttered, her vulnerable eyes looking away from his. "So I made some dinner and I though you'd like some too, would you?" she asked with a small smile playing on her lips.

Draco's bleak expression didn't change as he looked down at her, "I'm not hungry Granger, get out.." he said cruelly and shut the door on her dismayed face and walked with difficulty back to his seat near the window, expelling a harsh breath when he heard her small steps go down the stairs. Keeping Hermione Granger away from him was of optimum importance, he was attracted to her to a level he had not experienced till now and she was all things good and pure and he would not taint her... not for his own selfish desires.

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Hermione stood looking at the door for a whole minute absorbing the full impact of his words, he looked morose and angry.. no not angry that didn't justify correctly the rage she had glimpsed on his face just for a second before he had put the shutters down on his emotions again.

He was so poisonous and cruel when he wanted to be, she thought with a shudder making it's way down her spine. It was best to walk away right now, clearly Draco wanted to be left alone. Hermione went down the stairs and picked up baby Rose, they had eaten earlier, so Hermione just covered the plate of pasta and left on the counter of the kitchen in case Draco did want to eat it and walked up to the bedroom that Draco told her she and Rose could have in case the storm raged through the night.

In bed Rose lay on her mothers chest fast asleep as her mother tried but failed to shut her eyes because every time she did, the same picture of a man with tortured eyes and a scar across his face came into her mind.

Draco Malfoy was an enigma, a mystery... He was clearly rich and still incredibly good looking she thought with a shiver, the scar just added character to his face, removing all traces of boyish softness and replacing them with hard edges and jagged emotions that made him look like a man and Draco was a sensualist it showed in curve of his smile, in the way he walked.

Some men were just born predators, hunters always on the look out for their next kill,leaders of the pack.. brutal, demanding and sometimes callous. That was what made him stand out, Draco held himself in a way like no one Hermione had ever seen, graceful and lethal, iron not covered by silk but merely edged with it, fully at ease but with the awareness of a jungle cat, soft and slow till it sprang... The air around him crackled with the raw sexuality he exuded, so why in the world would a man like that hid himself away?

Suddenly Hermione heard a loud yell from the other room and her heart began to pound like a mad thing in her chest, she gently lay Rose down and surrounded her with pillows at all four sided lest she tried to roll around and fell instead and then Hermione ran out of her room and down the hallway where the scream had echoed from...

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	5. Torn Petals

Hermione determinedly pushed open the double doors of the room which she was sure was Draco's. Rushing inside she didn't even stop to admire the magnificent room instead she just ran to the bed that dominated the center of the chamber and looked down onto it to see Draco withering mercilessly on it, his body coated in sweat and his face contorted painfully. He was talking in his sleep, caught in the grip of what seemed to be a pretty harrowing nightmare. He was cursing and shaking, his powerful body quaking with tremors so strong she felt the bed shake.

"No!" he yelled out, his face a mask of fury, grief and despair. "I'm sorry mother! I'm sorry, forgive me! I never meant it to be this way, come back! Please come back.. I have so much left to say! NO!" he screamed, his hands flailing as if he was trying to grab on to something or someone. His eyes twitched behind his shut eyelids, his handsome face contorting in pain so profound Hermione felt it resonate within her very being...

"Draco..." she said touching his shoulder timidly and immediately his eyes flashed open, so broken and desolate were his emotions that Hermione could not contain the gasp that tore it's way out of her lips. He looked at her wildly as if he was still seeking the presence of his dead mother.

"She was here! I.. I saw her, she was here!" he said looking around wildly , his eyes feral like a wild animals. "Where is she?! I still have some much to say! Where is SHE?" he roared.

"She's not here! Draco.. Drac.. What are you doing stop?!" She called out to him her voice caught on a sob. "Please stop! You'll hurt yourself!" she cried after him as he sprang up of the bed and stormed out of the room.

Hermione ran after him, catching up to him in the middle of the hallway when he turned to her and asked "Where did she go?" his voice questioning and his eyes reflecting a sort of vicious pain that made Hermione sob as she tried to stop him from running out into the storm.

"Mother?! MOTHER!" he yelled his eyes dark with guilt and agony. He was limping, Hermione could see the scar on his leg, it was a vicious laceration and jagged, renting half of his thigh and cutting into the back of his knee into his calf.

He was running out into the storm though Hermione with despair, hearing his tortured screams and holding back her own tears she followed.

"Stop it Draco! Stop it, you're scaring me... Come back." she yelled over the thunder, her hair whipping around her as she shivered in the icy cold rain.

The thunder crackled and the lightning highlighted his face, showing Hermione his excruciating agony and suddenly his death like stillness.

Hermione ran to where he stood unmoving and began to pull him away, tears now flowing down her face unchecked. He came with no resistance, like he had lost all reason to be alive. His face was bleak... like a mask of death.

Once inside the house, Hermione forgot her fears and her inhibitions and just hugged him, pressed her cold body tight to his, like she wanted to absorb his pain... sobbing into his bare chest.

Draco woke from a trance and saw Hermione clinging to him sobbing , but he couldn't touch her, he felt nothing...

Looking up at him with pained eyes she yelled pounding at his chest.. "How could you! How could you?!" her small fists felt like pricks of a knife against his cold body.

"So cold.." was all he whispered, "I'm so cold..." he sighed and moved past her to return to his bed.

"You can't go Draco." she said her lip quivering. "You're hurt, let me help you. Please!" she said desperately.

"Leave it!" he demanded harshly, "Let it be. What are a few more scars to my already grotesque body..." he said laughing coldly and walking up the stairs to his cold, death-like room.

Hermione opened her mouth to stop him but heard the distinct cry of Rose and rushed up to comfort her daughter who was no doubt afraid of the loud sounds of the thunder.

"There there my love." Hermione said picking Rose up from her makeshift bed and cuddling her close. "Mommy always close by to protect you." she said rocking the baby gently. Rose eyed her mother with utmost trust and her tears slowed to a soft sinffel, her wide blue eyes regarded her mother as she took in the signs of Hermione's distress.

Hermione hugged her baby close, breathing in her calming essence of baby powder and strawberries. She bit her lip, it was clear as day that Draco Malfoy wanted to be left alone but Hermione just couldn't...

Steeling herself, she cuddled Rose to her and went in search of his room, her baby content in her arms.

Opening the doors she walked inside and caught sight of him looking out of the window with a bleak expression on his face. Walking up behind him she laid a hand on his back, Draco didn't even flinch at her approach or her touch. Looking down at her and the child in her arms he just let her take his hand and lead him to bed.

Hermione climbed on to his soft, plush bed though no doubt it felt like iron to him just now and pulled him with her. "Let us keep you company tonight." she said softly, gently. Tugging his hand to lie down, so that Rose was in between them. "Shut you're eyes." she said and kept her hold on his hand firm and Draco did as she told him to, falling almost immediately into a deep, dreamless slumber.

Hermione followed, her tiny hand still clasped in his...

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